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Decorative painting for Kedleston Hall

Painting
1759-1761 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Agostino Brunias (active 1752-1796) was born in Rome where he was a student at the Academia di San Luca. He met the Scottish architect Robert Adam on his Grand Tour of Italy around 1754-1756. Brunias accompanied Adam on his return to Britain, where, in May 1761, Adam wrote that he ‘does all my ornaments and all my figures vastly well’. This series of five paintings was commissioned by Adam to Brunias to decorate the Breakfast Room at Kedleston Hall. Adam executed the design (sketches of which are in the Soane Museum) and Brunias was entrusted with the execution of the painting. The gilt frames were made by the renowned British ornamental carver Sefferin Alken, and the whole set was finished and set into the walls in 1761. Unfortunately, Brunias experimented with an unusual medium on canvas to resemble fresco, and the works quickly deteriorated. In August 1766, the Duchess of Northumberland remarked that Brunias’ works were ‘painted after the antique but sadly executed’. The paintings were removed from the walls and the room was re-decorated.

By 1764, Brunias moved to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean under the patronage of Sir William Young. His idealised paintings of Antillean life depict the Caribbean as harmonious place well-suited to colonial settlement, obscuring the violence of the plantations. In doing so, Brunias drew on his classical training. The similarities in composition to his decorative paintings for Robert Adam are notable. This painting shows two women, probably vestals or ancient priestesses, in classical dress in a landscape, one standing, one seated, each side of an hour-glass shaped altar with a sacrificial fire. It imitates classical mural decoration which came into fashion at the end of the 18th century.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Decorative Painting
  • Frame
TitleDecorative painting for Kedleston Hall (generic title)
Materials and techniques
tempera on canvas
Brief description
Decorative painting, in the manner of Roman fresco, for the Breakfast Room at Kedleston Hall, painted by Agostino Brunias, in a gilt frame carved by Sefferin Alken, after designs by Robert Adam, 1759-1760.
Physical description
Decorative painting, in the style of a Roman fresco, for the Breakfast Room at Kedleston Hall, with significant deteriorations. It depicts two women in classical dress in a landscape, either side of an hourglass-shaped altar with a sacrificial fire.
Dimensions
  • With frame height: 117.6cm
  • Width: 129.4cm
Style
Object history
Purchased, 1975.
Association
Summary
Agostino Brunias (active 1752-1796) was born in Rome where he was a student at the Academia di San Luca. He met the Scottish architect Robert Adam on his Grand Tour of Italy around 1754-1756. Brunias accompanied Adam on his return to Britain, where, in May 1761, Adam wrote that he ‘does all my ornaments and all my figures vastly well’. This series of five paintings was commissioned by Adam to Brunias to decorate the Breakfast Room at Kedleston Hall. Adam executed the design (sketches of which are in the Soane Museum) and Brunias was entrusted with the execution of the painting. The gilt frames were made by the renowned British ornamental carver Sefferin Alken, and the whole set was finished and set into the walls in 1761. Unfortunately, Brunias experimented with an unusual medium on canvas to resemble fresco, and the works quickly deteriorated. In August 1766, the Duchess of Northumberland remarked that Brunias’ works were ‘painted after the antique but sadly executed’. The paintings were removed from the walls and the room was re-decorated.

By 1764, Brunias moved to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean under the patronage of Sir William Young. His idealised paintings of Antillean life depict the Caribbean as harmonious place well-suited to colonial settlement, obscuring the violence of the plantations. In doing so, Brunias drew on his classical training. The similarities in composition to his decorative paintings for Robert Adam are notable. This painting shows two women, probably vestals or ancient priestesses, in classical dress in a landscape, one standing, one seated, each side of an hour-glass shaped altar with a sacrificial fire. It imitates classical mural decoration which came into fashion at the end of the 18th century.
Bibliographic reference
L. Harris, Robert Adam and Kedleston : the making of a neo-classical masterpiece, London, 1987, pp. 52-54.
Collection
Accession number
W.40:1, 2-1975

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Record createdMay 10, 2002
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